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In the Old Testament...'the knowledge of God is mediated not by metaphysical reflection on the necessity of his being but by historical experience of his presence...'

John Courtney Murray, S.J. The Problem of God, p. 19

The goal of the interpreter is not to seek to discern one conceptual unity within the book, or to reconstruct one consistent line of theological discourse throughout the dialogue, but rather to see how this literature was designed to function as a normative guide within a community of faith, which acknowledges its authority.

Brevard Childs, Intro. to OT as Scripture, p. 533

“Unless the church of the West begins to understand this (mission as a permanent and instrinsic dimension of the church’s life, “The church exists by mission, just as fire exists by burning.”), and unless we develop a missionary theology, not just a theology of mission, we will not achieve more than merely patch up the church. We are in need of a missiological agenda for theology, not just a theological agenda for mission; for theology, rightly understood, has no reason to exist other than critically to accompany the missio Dei.”

David Bosch, p.32

…theology..has no reason to exist other than to critically accompany the missio Dei.

David Bosch

For Christians, interpreting Scripture is a difficult task...because it is, and involves, a life long process of learning to become a wise reader of Scripture capable of embodying that reading in life.

Stephen Fowl and Gregory Jones, Reading in Communion, p. 29

'Uttering a word is like striking a note on the keyboard of the imagination.'

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Philosophical Investigations

There is nothing like suspense and anxiety for barracading a human's mind against the Enemy. He wants men to be concerned with what they do; our business is to keep them thinking about what will happen to them.

C.S. Lewis, Screwtape Letters, p.28

The common thought is that this life hid with Christ in God is to be lived in the emotions, and consequently all the attention of the soul is directed toward them, and as they are satisfactory or otherwise, the soul rests or is troubled. Now, the truth is, that this life is not to be lived in the emotions at all, but in the will; and therefore, if only the will is kept steadfastly abiding in its center, God's will, the varying states of emotion do not in the least disturb or affect the reality of life.

Hannah Whitall Smith, The Christian's Secret of a Happy Life, p. 57

The task of the theologian, like the task of the preacher, is to write theology in such a way as to persuade modern people.

John Leith, Basic Christian Doctrine, p.9

The Christian claim is that the Christian faith does more justice to the facts, makes more sense out of life, illuminates life, opens life more to the grace of God that forgives and heals wounded consciences and bruised spirits than does any other faith.

John Leith, Basic Christian Doctrine, p. 7

The chief reason for writers' inarticulateness on certain subjects is the lack of experience or reading background that can stock their reservoir of ideas.

Edward P.J. Corbett, Classical Rhetoric, p. 24

Incarnation is translation.

Andrew Walls, The Missionary Movement in Christian History, p. 27.

Desire in itself is movementNot in itself desireable; Love is itself unmoving,Only the cause and the end of movement,Timeless and undesiringExcept in the aspect of timeCaught in the form of limitationBetween unbeing and being.

TS Eliot, Burnt Norton, in Four Quartets

It is necessary to be disengaged from all we feel and do in order to walk with God in the duty of the present moment.

Jean-Pierre De Caussade, The Sacrament of the Present Moment, p. 15

If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.